The Chicago Cubs have officially hired former Tampa Bay Rays manager Joe Maddon.
Rick's sterling reputation should only be enhanced by his season as Cubs manager. We challenged Rick to create an environment in which our young players could develop and thrive at the big league level, and he succeeded. Working with the youngest team in the league and an imperfect roster, Rick had the club playing hard and improving throughout the season. His passion, character, optimism and work ethic showed up every single day.Rick deserved to come back for another season as Cubs manager, and we said as much when we announced that he would be returning in 2015. We met with Rick two weeks ago for a long end-of-season evaluation and discussed plans for next season. We praised Rick to the media and to our season ticket holders. These actions were made in good faith.
Epstein said the decision to part with Renteria came as a result of Maddon opting out of his contract with the Rays.
Epstein said, "We saw it as a unique opportunity and faced a clear dilemma: be loyal to Rick or be loyal to the organization."
Though Maddon's hiring was not confirmed until Friday evening, CBS Sports reported the Cubs' intent to hire Joe Maddon on Wednesday, before Game 7 of the World Series.
The Cubs finished last in the National League Central in 2014, winning only 73 games and losing 89 to finish with a winning percentage of 0.451.
Joe Maddon managed Tampa Bay from 2006 until the end of the 2014 season.
